The cheetah is defined as a living animal because has the following characteristics;
1) A Cheetah is made of more than one cell or multiple cells, these groups of cells can form tissue which can create muscles and nerves. These specialized muscles and nerves are what make the Cheetah so incredibly fast.
2) The Cheetah female can reproduce at the age of 24 months, the male can reproduce as early as 12 months but they usually don't mate till about 3 years old. A litter of cubs can be up to 9 cubs but the average litter is 3 to 5. the cubs will weigh from 150 to 300grams at birth and are born with their spots .
A cheetah cub
3) A Cheetah responds to situations by making a bunch of different vocal sounds to communicate. Cheetahs don't roar instead they;
Chirp- when they are calling there cub
Stutter- when they are trying to be social
Growl- when they are annoyed
Yowl- when they are usually endanger
Purr- when they are being social usually with their cubs
4) A Cheetah cub lives with its mom between thirteen to twenty months after its birth while it grows and develops. The cubs first 18 months of its life is very important, as they must learn many lessons on how to survive and hunt in the wild. At about 2 years the female siblings will leave the group and the males will remain together for life.
Air
It has large passages inside its nose to help it breathe while running fast.
Food
The cheetah is a carnivore and catch's it's prey by tripping it's chase and then suffocating it.
It runs faster than an other land animal (112 to 120km/h) for short distances to catch it's food.
A cheetah catches its pray about 50% of the time but loses it 50% of the time to other predators.
Relies on tall grasses for camouflage when hunting.
Water
Cheetahs drink water from water holes, rivers, and other places where water is available.
Cheetahs don't need to drink water daily because when they eat they get fluids from their prey.
Shelter
Cheetahs live on the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa.
The cheetah likes to live in an open habitat, such as grasslands, savannahs, and thick brush, though it can be found in a variety of habitats.
Cheetahs like to rest under shady trees whenever they feel safe from other predators.
Hide their cubs in grass concealing them from predators and moves the cubs to new hiding places every few days.
Classfication
Characteristics of Cheetah
Kingdom:
Animalia
it is multicellular animal, it has a spine and many muscles.
it reproduces babies and they grow and develop.
it is a carnivore which means it feeds of other living things.
Phylum:
Chordata
it has cartilage and a vertebrae.
it has a spinal cord and nervous system.
it has a pharynx which is a part of the throat that helps the cheetah digest food and breath.
it has a tail.
Class:
Mammalia
it has a lower jaw and an upper jaw and a jaw joint so it can open and close its mouth when it eats its prey.
it has a tooth replacement that means a cheetah can get its teeth replaced once or twice.
it has a middle ear so it can hear if other cheetahs are communicating and if there is a predator around.
Order:
Carnivoa
it has strong sharp claws.
it has blade like teeth that can shred or sheer meat.
it only eats meat for nutrition.
it's skull is shaped the same as most other carnivores.
Family:
Felidae
it has 5 toes on its four feet and 4 toes on its behind feet.
it is a member of the cat family.
it has a flexible body and muscular limbs.
it has protractible claws.
Genus:
Acinonyx
it is the only member of this Genus family that is still alive all of the other members are extinct.
The cheetah is defined as a living animal because has the following characteristics;
1) A Cheetah is made of more than one cell or multiple cells, these groups of cells can form tissue which can create muscles and nerves. These specialized muscles and nerves are what make the Cheetah so incredibly fast.
2) The Cheetah female can reproduce at the age of 24 months, the male can reproduce as early as 12 months but they usually don't mate till about 3 years old. A litter of cubs can be up to 9 cubs but the average litter is 3 to 5. the cubs will weigh from 150 to 300grams at birth and are born with their spots .
A cheetah cub
3) A Cheetah responds to situations by making a bunch of different vocal sounds to communicate. Cheetahs don't roar instead they;
4) A Cheetah cub lives with its mom between thirteen to twenty months after its birth while it grows and develops. The cubs first 18 months of its life is very important, as they must learn many lessons on how to survive and hunt in the wild. At about 2 years the female siblings will leave the group and the males will remain together for life.
Sources:
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Living_thing
http://animals.about.com/od/animal-facts/a/animal-characteristics.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah
http://www.defenders.org/cheetah/basic-facts
http://www.docstoc.com
Video Sources:
Youtube.com/BBC Wildlife